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third trimester blues

Now I know what people mean when they say they cant wait till its over.

Heartburn is at an all time high. I look at my husbands spaghetti plate and salivate. Gone are those days of tomato sauce and garlic butter. I know they say it is all worth it in the end and I cant wait to see the prize at the end of this long journey.

first time mom

Waiting for Aidan to come...

I am 32 years old and 28 weeks pregnant with my second son. My first son is will be 9 years old in November and I'm excited about having this baby!

As you can tell it has been a while. I do wish circumstances were better with his father. Although I've been dealing with this pregnancy without his emotional support, I know that in the end there is nothing like the love of a child. So now my little family is growing and we're looking forward to meeting Aidan soon. Although this has been a good pregnancy, it's a lot different than it was with my first son.

This pregnancy I have to deal with horrific heartburn, frequent urination and the complete inability to sleep. But I know this is mild in comparison to the other discomforts. So now as I enter my third trimester, my family and I are preparing for his arrival. But I wanted to say to all the single moms out there to hang in there and let the love of the children motivate you to achieve your dreams.

Believe me, there's always room for love.

Sherita

My little field goal kicker

I already have a 4 year old son Kristepher who will be starting Kindergarten in two weeks, I am currently pregnant with his little brother 33 weeks along, everyone always talks about it being a nine month journey but if you think it about it, it can be more like 10 months or more.

Kristepher was late two weeks but the doctors would not induce saying he would come when he was ready. He decided to choose the day after thanksgiving 2 weeks later than his EDD. I am so afraid that baby Sean will do the same thing to me. I am a very small 5 ft woman,

This pregnancy is a little different then my first. Kristepher hardly moved and when he did was very soft about it, which would explain why he is so careful and quiet as a kid. Sean however kicks like a field goal kicker, I laughed when at my last doc appointment they told me I need to starting counting his kicks and have at least 10 movement in one hour, Sean kicks for hours on end, I have already been told that he will likely surpass 8lbs for a birth weight.

7 more weeks until 40 but the doc says Sean could be born early due to his size and his development. or it could be more like 9 weeks left he is late, I hate the waiting I am so ready to meet my baby and be done with insomnia, side and hip pain and general discomforts.

Congrats to all the rest of you moms for those of us in the final months it seems like each days lasts forever but just think each one is one day closer to the main event.

Nicole

Griffin

Here I am at the third trimester. 7 days away from my 29th birthday, and 3 days away from my due date. This is my third and final child. I have 2 girls and now a boy is on his way. As much as I would love to be done with being pregnant, I am enjoying every last minute I have minus one more child. I know when he arrives and hubby returns to work, I will have my hands full. At the same time, I am so excited to have a newborn around!
My first pregnancy dragged on forever, I ended up with pregnancy induced hypertension. I ate and ate and ate and ate, and didn't drink nearly enough water or get nearly enough exercize...almost 70 lbs and 2 1/2 weeks ovedue, I finally delivered Britani by induction, it was horrible, 13 hours of labor with 1 hour of pushing, she was 7 lbs, 15 oz, 21 inches. She is now 10 and is my right hand helper around the house.
My second daughter was the only "planned" child...much older and wiser I had a rather uneventful pregnancy, gaining only 30 lbs this time around, I delivered her on her due date...what are the odds? Although the pregnancy itself also seemed rather long and drawn out, I was convinced at my Dr apt., the day before her arrival, that my body was clueless to labor and that I might in fact be the only woman alive that would be pregnant forever and nobdy would care...ha ha! Faith Natalie was 7 lbs. 4 oz and came in an amazing 3 hour labor with one push! Perfection! She is now 2, and is mommy's shadow, as well as my lil hand full of sassiness.
Now here I am with the thrid, gaining only 26 lbs so far, I am even wiser than before, and to tell you the truth this lil guy has been the easiest of all pregnancies...it has gone by pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong these last few days seem like forever...but for the most part it has been pretty enjoyable. We were in no way shape or form ready for a thrid child, but now that we are days away from having him, I don't think we have ever been more prepared. My last apt was 2 days ago, I was dilated to 3 and 30% effaced, baby's head is at a -1 station. I have already lost the mucous plug last week, and I have been getting those early Braxton Hicks contractions for about a week now pretty regularly. I literally feel like it could be any day now. I just wonder how fast it will go?!
I have been dilated for 2 weeks now, which has never ever been the case with either one of my other pregnancies, in fact I never had any signs what so ever with my girls! Here I am this time around, feeling that morning sickness come back a lil here and there, contracting, feeling so much pressure on lower back and abdomen! Each pregnancy really has been different for me. We'll see...either way I am like an emotional roller coaster right now, one minute I am relishing the last few days of this final pregnancy, one minute Iam fed up and wiling to do anything to have my body back! Come out William!!!

Gina

Unexpected Happiness

I would like to dedicate my personal story to all the teenage moms out there who are a little scared and happy for their new babies.

So let's set the story:
I'm 17 years old, with my boyfriend of 1 year and 9 months.

This passed christmas, we were in no way planning to have a baby of our own. Both of us were simply trying to enjoy the holiday season while staying on top of studying for the dreaded exams coming up.

Well, the holidays passed along with some pretty severe blizzards ( when you live on the lakeshore in west michigan, they're pretty normal ). We went back to school looking back on all the fun times we had had over the break. Although, something was different about going back to school this year.

I felt as if something was wrong. Something just didnt feel right. I was scared to death that I was pregnant. I had never wanted to be pregnant nor planned on it in high school. I knew that I wasnt the stereo-type girl who becomes pregnant in high school. I was on the Varsity Cheerleading team since my freshman year and taking college prep courses with a GPA of 3.87 and had a long term loving boyfriend. I never partied or drank or had really even had another boyfriend! ( my current boyfriend and i have been on and off since 6th grade )

When I told him that something was not right, he sensed my fear and asked me to sit down and talk. He held my hand as I told him that I did not think I was going to get my period this month.

He looked at me confused, and asked, " well have you been feeling sick or really tired recently? you've seemed fine to me...just a lil anxious or tense."

"No," i replied. We searched the internet for ' rare' early pregnancy symptoms. I continued to fall into the 'negative' category for these.

We waited weeks and weeks, and soon it was February. My last period had been December 14. I was still not experiencing any signs of pregnancy. I felt fine, no morning sickness and I was never tired. If anything, I felt better than normal! We fell into denial, afraid to tell anyone. We decided to look into getting an abortion.

The state law in michigan says that you cannot get an abortion unless 18 or with a parent's consent. Neither of us could talk to our parents about the baby. So while still in denial, we gave up. We told ourselves that this was just a dream and we would wake up soon if we just waited..

It was soon April and then the first sign of pregnancy really hit me. I was sitting in class, when all of a sudden, a felt a little movement in my lower stomach. Our baby had just moved for the first time! I was so excited yet scared because i KNEW that now...we couldnt live in denial any longer. When I told my boyfriend, a smile quickly came to his face, and a tear to his eye. Despite how bad this situation was... we had a baby.

Unable to express our emotions at school with classmates and teachers around, we contained our feelings until after school. We talked for hours that night about our baby and what we wished it could be and how at this point, we longed to have it but knew we couldnt. Both of us cried ourselves to sleep that night.

We knew now that we were running out of time to get an abortion. If we couldnt do it in michigan, we would go some place else. We decided to go to Illinois. We called to schedule appointments behind my parents' backs and tried to figure out how to get there. But trying to schedule that between work,sports, and school plus prom was coming up, and most offices are only open til 4 pm.

Things still were not looking up when my clothes were not fitting and the first few weeks of may arrived. We thought we were lucky to find a place. And we thought our worries were finally over and we could get our lives back on track and not live in hiding from EVERYONE. However a 2 day procedure that costs over $1,000 * with money due up front might i add * and under 1 week to get the money was our last and final sign from God that this baby was meant to be ours. We decided to keep it.

We were scared to death to tell people. Infact, it is now July 27. 2006 and i just recently told my parents on July 10. We kept this hidden for so long...

To my surprise, they did not abandon me or kick me out of the house. Infact, our relationship is closer than ever now and I have found that many people truly do care and support us in this. Many people are actually excited.

We were thrilled to find out that it is a DEFINATE boy..something that my boyfriend could not be more proud of, and that it is one of the healthiest babies as of right now. I know what you're thinking, what a relief after going through 7 and 1/2 months without any prenatal care!

Now the aches and pains are getting to me and I'm 32 weeks pregnant. I cannot wait to see our baby boy and start our lives together. My life now seems complete even when I thought it would be 'over'. But no, i choose not to look at it like that. Every child is a blessing, and this one is truly a gift from God. He has watched over us the whole time giving me the chance to find strengths I never knew I was capable of.

I cant wait for this pregnancy to be over..haha. But i have to say, it has been the most amazing journey of my life.

So to all the teen moms, dont be scared. Everything happens for a reason and i'm sure you'll be amazed at what you can find if you just turn your perspectives. You are not alone.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you - May you find unexpected happiness through your experience as well.

Alexandra